Central Michigan University Athletics
Postgame Quotes
4/18/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Head Coach Dan Enos
On the spring game:
The number one thing was we didn't have any injuries. Cornelius Gallon got dinged up early, but he's been managing a problem the entire spring. Other than that we got out healthy. The players had a great time. The coaches and the honorary coaches had a great time, so that was all good. I thought our guys played with great effort. I would have liked to have seen the White offense be a little more productive. I thought they had some opportunities to score more points and keep drives going, but we had a turnover and there was always something - a sack, we made a poor throw. We were a little out of sync, but I thought the Maroon defense did a great job. I saw Sean Murnane in there playing hard, getting off blocks, and our safeties coming up and making big hits. Our defensive staff has those guys playing hard. There is a little bit good on both sides, but at the end of the day I think we put guys in some positions as close to game-like as we can get, and now we'll evaluate it. I know standing out there I saw some good things from some guys, and I also saw some mistakes we hadn't seen in practice. You have to look at that and say, was it nerves, did they freeze up a little on game day? At the end of the day, it was fun and a great experience for our players and our fans.
On whether the defense is ahead of the offense:
Absolutley. We had guys playing positions on offense they don't normally play, so some guys were a little tentative that way. But it's also a credit to our defensive coaches. They've got our guys playing fast, playing with confidence and playing with an edge. Coach Tumpkin and those guys are doing a great job. I know the offensive coaches were getting frustrated a little bit, but they did some good things too.
On Ryan Radcliff:
I thought Ryan started a little slow. He had a few guys open downfield that he just missed, but part of that might have been the 30-mile-an-hour wind blowing in his face. I think he was pressing a little bit. I think he wanted to come out and complete every pass and score a touchdown on every drive. As the game went on, I thought he settled in and did some good things. A couple times he pushed up and they called it a sack and he was getting frustrated, but I thought he made some good throws on third down and ran the team pretty effectively. He threw the one pick that he threw late to Cody Wilson, and I know he wasn't happy with that one. Overall, it was definitely not his best day that he's had this spring. We had a scrimmage earlier this spring where he was 18-of-22 with two drops. I know overall he won't be happy with it, but I would say he had an above average day and he needs to get better, but that's what spring ball is for.
On what the team needs to work on:
We have to find a PAT/field goal kicker. That job hasn't been solidified yet by any means. We've got to find five or six wideouts that we need to hang our hats on and say these are going to be our guys. We have to find another tight end. We have one, David Blackburn, who I think has a chance to be a very good player. We have to find a tailback who is going to put his stamp on this football team. Right now we have some guys doing some good things. Zurlon Tipton has made a ton of strides here in the last week and a half. He has come out of nowhere and been very productive for us. On defense, guys like Lorenzo White and Bobby Seay we want those guys to put their stamp on those positions and step up. Derek Carter we need to step in there and do well. Armond Staten needs to be the third linebacker with Mike Petrucci, Alex Smith and Shamari Benton, those guys have to be great number twos behind our starters and be ready to go at any moment. And then, we have to find defensive ends and some defensive tackles to get Sean Murnane out so he's not playing 65 plays. I just gave you the whole rundown. You probably wanted a quick answer, but as a coach I'm thinking about everything. We have a couple holes to fill and solidify, but I know our coaching staff feels great about this spring.
On the spring game:
The number one thing was we didn't have any injuries. Cornelius Gallon got dinged up early, but he's been managing a problem the entire spring. Other than that we got out healthy. The players had a great time. The coaches and the honorary coaches had a great time, so that was all good. I thought our guys played with great effort. I would have liked to have seen the White offense be a little more productive. I thought they had some opportunities to score more points and keep drives going, but we had a turnover and there was always something - a sack, we made a poor throw. We were a little out of sync, but I thought the Maroon defense did a great job. I saw Sean Murnane in there playing hard, getting off blocks, and our safeties coming up and making big hits. Our defensive staff has those guys playing hard. There is a little bit good on both sides, but at the end of the day I think we put guys in some positions as close to game-like as we can get, and now we'll evaluate it. I know standing out there I saw some good things from some guys, and I also saw some mistakes we hadn't seen in practice. You have to look at that and say, was it nerves, did they freeze up a little on game day? At the end of the day, it was fun and a great experience for our players and our fans.
On whether the defense is ahead of the offense:
Absolutley. We had guys playing positions on offense they don't normally play, so some guys were a little tentative that way. But it's also a credit to our defensive coaches. They've got our guys playing fast, playing with confidence and playing with an edge. Coach Tumpkin and those guys are doing a great job. I know the offensive coaches were getting frustrated a little bit, but they did some good things too.
On Ryan Radcliff:
I thought Ryan started a little slow. He had a few guys open downfield that he just missed, but part of that might have been the 30-mile-an-hour wind blowing in his face. I think he was pressing a little bit. I think he wanted to come out and complete every pass and score a touchdown on every drive. As the game went on, I thought he settled in and did some good things. A couple times he pushed up and they called it a sack and he was getting frustrated, but I thought he made some good throws on third down and ran the team pretty effectively. He threw the one pick that he threw late to Cody Wilson, and I know he wasn't happy with that one. Overall, it was definitely not his best day that he's had this spring. We had a scrimmage earlier this spring where he was 18-of-22 with two drops. I know overall he won't be happy with it, but I would say he had an above average day and he needs to get better, but that's what spring ball is for.
On what the team needs to work on:
We have to find a PAT/field goal kicker. That job hasn't been solidified yet by any means. We've got to find five or six wideouts that we need to hang our hats on and say these are going to be our guys. We have to find another tight end. We have one, David Blackburn, who I think has a chance to be a very good player. We have to find a tailback who is going to put his stamp on this football team. Right now we have some guys doing some good things. Zurlon Tipton has made a ton of strides here in the last week and a half. He has come out of nowhere and been very productive for us. On defense, guys like Lorenzo White and Bobby Seay we want those guys to put their stamp on those positions and step up. Derek Carter we need to step in there and do well. Armond Staten needs to be the third linebacker with Mike Petrucci, Alex Smith and Shamari Benton, those guys have to be great number twos behind our starters and be ready to go at any moment. And then, we have to find defensive ends and some defensive tackles to get Sean Murnane out so he's not playing 65 plays. I just gave you the whole rundown. You probably wanted a quick answer, but as a coach I'm thinking about everything. We have a couple holes to fill and solidify, but I know our coaching staff feels great about this spring.
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